Eine kleine Nachtmusik
'' German pronunciation: (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German title means "a little serenade," though it is often rendered more literally but less accurately as "a little night music."See "Nachtmusik" and "Notturno" entries in Grove Music Online. The work is written for an ensemble of two violins, viola, and cello with optional double bass, but is often performed by string orchestras.Holoman (1992, 397) Composition, publication, and reception The serenade was completed in Vienna on 10 August 1787, around the time Mozart was working on the second act of his opera ''Don Giovanni. It is not known why it was composed. Hildesheimer, noting that most of Mozart's serenades were written on commission, suggests that this serenade, too, was a commission, whose origin and first performance were not recorded.Hildesheimer (1991, 215) The traditionally used name of the work comes from the entry Mozart made for it in his personal catalog, which begins, "Eine kleine Nacht-Musik."The full entry reads (in German) "Eine kleine Nachtmusik, bestehend in einem Allegro.Menuett und Trio.–Romance.Menuett und Trio, und Finale.–2 violini, viola e bassi."; "A little serenade, consisting of an allegro, a minuet and trio, a romance, another minuet and trio, and a finale. For two violins, viola, and bass instruments." Mozart's "incipit" (quotation for identification purposes) consists of the first two bars of the first movement. The catalog is posted at the web site of the British Library. Quotation of text is from German Wikipedia, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik." As Zaslaw and Cowdery point out, Mozart almost certainly was not giving the piece a special title, but only entering in his records that he had completed a little serenade.Zaslaw and Cowdery (1991, 250) The work was not published until about 1827, long after Mozart's death, by Johann André in Offenbach am Main. It had been sold to this publisher in 1799 by Mozart's widow Constanze, part of a large bundle of her husband's compositions. Today the serenade is widely performed and recorded; indeed both Jacobson and Hildesheimer opine that the serenade is the most popular of all Mozart's works.Jacobson (2003, 38), Hildesheimer (1991, 215) Of the music, Hildesheimer writes, "even if we hear it on every street corner, its high quality is undisputed, an occasional piece from a light but happy pen." Movements The work has four movements: Allegro (The first theme) This first movement is in sonata-allegro form. It opens with an ascending Mannheim rocket theme. The second theme is more graceful and in D major, the dominant key of G major. The exposition closes in D major and is repeated. The development section begins on D major and touches on D minor and C major before the work returns to G major for the recapitulation. There is a brief coda. Romanze The second movement, with the tempo marked Andante, is a "Romanze" in the subdominant key of C major. A feeling of intimacy and tenderness prevails throughout this movement. It is in rondo form, taking the shape A–B–A–C–A plus a final coda. The keys of the sections are C major for A and B, C minor for C. The middle appearance of A is truncated, consisting of only the first half of the theme. Heartz describes the movement as evoking gavotte rhythm: each of its sections begins in the middle of the measure, with a double upbeat.Heartz (2009:185) Menuetto The third movement, marked Allegretto, is a minuet and trio, both in time. The minuet is in the home key of G major, the contrasting trio in the dominant key of D major. As is normal in this form, the minuet is played again da capo following the trio. Rondo The fourth and last movement is in lively tempo, marked Allegro; the key is again G major. The movement is written in sonata form. Mozart specifies repeats not just for the exposition section but also for the following development and recapitulation section. The work ends with a long coda. Possible extra movement In the catalog entry mentioned above, Mozart listed the work as having five movements ("Allegro – Minuet and Trio – Romance – Minuet and Trio – Finale."). The second movement in his listing, a minuet and trio, was long thought lost and no one knows if it was Mozart or someone else who removed it. Musicologist Alfred Einstein suggested, however, that a minuet in Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 498a, is the missing movement. The sonata's minuet has been recorded in an arrangement for strings made by Jonathan Del Mar for Nimbus Records. See also *Parodies by Peter Schickele: **''Eine kleine Nichtmusik'' **''A Little Nightmare Music'' References Sources *Heartz, Daniel (2009) Mozart, Haydn and Early Beethoven, 1781–1802. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. *Hildesheimer, Wolfgang (1991) Mozart. Translated by Marion Faber. Macmillan. . *Holoman, D. Kern (1992) Evenings with the orchestra: a Norton companion for concertgoers. W. W. Norton & Company. . *Jacobson, Julius H. (2003) The Classical Music Experience: Discover the Music of the World's Greatest Composers, vol. 2, narrated by Kevin Kline, Sourcebooks, Inc. . *Zaslaw, Neal and Cowdery, W. (1991) The Compleat Mozart: A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Norton. (1991), . External links * * *[http://traffic.libsyn.com/gardnermuseum/mozart_kv525_afarcry.mp3 Performance of Eine kleine Nachtmusik] by A Far Cry from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format Serenade 13 Category:Chamber music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Category:1787 compositions Category:1962 EPs Category:Compositions in G major Mozart